Boeing B-29 Superfortress Book Review

By Michael Benolkin

Review

The Crowood Press from the UK has been busy publishing a wide range of historical titles that are of interest to aviation historians and modelers alike. This one in particular covers the design, development and operational history of the Boeing B-29. The author has done some extensive research on the subject and has compiled an impressive set of drawings, cut aways, scrap detail artwork and loads of photographs. There are even eight pages of full color photos of notable Superfortresses including two green-camouflaged aircraft, Enola Gay, Bockcar, Dina Might, The Great Artiste, Thumper, Lady Mary Ann, and a number of Korean War and post-war examples.

As you would expect in a thorough examination of the B-29, there is a great section on Silverplate and the subsequent operations of the 509th BG. There is also a very interesting chapter on the Soviet production version of the B-29, known as the Tu-4 Bull. The book concludes with a look at the derivatives of the B-29, including the B-50, Boeing 377, and even the Super Guppy.

The coverage of this informative title is presented as follows:

• The Boeing Airplane Company
• Superbomber
• Production
• Structures and Systems
• World War Two
• Silverplate
• De-Engineering the Superfortress: The Tupolev Tu-4 Bull and Derivatives
• Strategic Air Command
• Washington
• Korean War
• B-29 Derivatives, Variants and Spin-Offs
• Survivors
• Summaries

The appendicies include production serial numbers of the B-29 and an index of individual aircraft names.

This book is a must-have for the modeler and the historian alike! You can purchase this and any of the Crowood series from Motorbooks or from your favorite bookstore.

My sincere thanks to Motorbooks International for this review sample!